Traditional+costumes+of+Egypt

__** Traditional Costumes of Egypt: **__ MEN:

The basic traditional Egyptian garment for men is a long shirt (gallibaya). This also distinguishes one with a looser fit under the arms (eri) and very wide version of the gallibaya called a kamis which was worn by fellahin. While working fellahin would hitch up the skirt of the gallebaya and wrap it around their thighs. Trousers (sserual) were sometimes worn under the gallebaya. Over the gallebaya a kaftan (often striped) was worn. A kaftan is a full length garment like a coat with long wide sleeves open in front and often bound by a fabric belt (hizan). Over the kaftan was a binish - a cloth overcoat with wide sleeves - often slit below usually dark grey and unlined. Alternatively, a djubbeh which had was more complex cut than the binish could be worn especially by Turks during the Ottoman occupation. The `ulama also wore a jubbah over stripped kaftan. The jubbah was a long, wide sleeved gown which reached to feet and was buttoned half way down. However, from the 1800s European dress replaced traditional dress among the Ottoman court and this was taken up by members of the elite. Therefore, senior civil servants and members of the ruling intelligentsia could be seen in Egypt in European style clothing. However European head wear was not adopted. Instead Sultan Mahmud Khan II decreed that checheya head gear would be worn. In Egypt this was called "tarboosh". Later Mohammed Ali was to incorporate the tarboosh as part of the military uniform. This was abolished as head wear after the 1952 revolution.



WOMEN:

Peasant women would wear a gallebaya outdoors but in the city gallibaya tended to be worn only indoors. For public wear a woman would wear a wide woman's dress called a tob sebleh. Wide trousers were worn as underclothing (tshalvar or shintijan) gathered below knee and falling to ankles. The woman's kaftan was called a yelek. This was lined, with the neck open to breast and buttoned or laced along side seams for shaping. It had high side slit over trousers. Girded with shawl. Women would wear a shirt under the yelek, and a djubbeh or binnish over it. In Alexandria and Cairo, women would also wear the melaya luf - a large rectangular wrap worn for modesty, warmth, and used to carry things. City women often worn a bur`a - a long rectangular face veil either of white cotton or open weave - and a headscarf (sometimes over a skullcap - taqiyah). Another headcovering was the mandil (headscarf) sometimes decorated with pom poms. Among the fellahin a bag like hattah was sometimes worn.



NUBIA: Nubia straddles the south of Egypt and the North of the Sudan. After the building of the Aswan dam many Nubians were relocated in Aswan. Nubians belong to five main tribes - two of which (Kanuz and Fadija) are in Egypt. The Kanuz people are the northernmost. The Kanuz women wear dresses formed by horizontal lengths of fabric each of which is longer than the one above giving a dress with almost a flounce at the bottom. For special occasions - such as weddings a semi-transparent layer is added over the dress. Fadija women wear a wrapped garment a little like a sari. Men wear trousers, shirts, vests and turbans.



~ ~ ~